Most articles of clothing employ means for connecting edges of the clothing to allow the clothing to be properly worn. Such means for fastening or connecting clothing includes, buttons, snaps, laces, and hook and loop material.
Typically, one edge of the clothing article is connected to another edge of the clothing article to allow the article to be worn with the proper fit. Shirts are typically buttoned by inserting a button attached to one edge through a button hole formed in an opposite edge. Coats, jackets, slacks, and other articles are similarly formed.
Some articles of clothing use zippers, which are attached to opposite edges of the clothing to be joined. Zippers have a trolley which joins the zipper. The tracks of the zipper are attached to each edge of the clothing to be joined. When the trolley is pulled in one direction, the zipper is separated, separating of the edges of the clothing, and when the trolley is pulled in an opposite direction, the tracks are joined, joining the edges of the clothing.
Pants and jackets are common examples of clothing which use zippers. Most pants use a button, snap or other fastener conjunction with a zipper. The fastener is placed near one end of the zipper.
In most pants, a zipper is present in what is known as a fly. The fly is joined in a fixed manner at one end, which is usually the bottom of the fly, and is open at an opposite end. A zipper is commonly used to allow the opposite edges of the fly to be joined from one end, to an opposite end, by moving the trolley along the zipper so as to cause the zipper to join the fabric from bottom to top. At the top, a button or snap is used in conjunction with the zipper to hold the fabric together at the top of the opening.
In the prior art, the zipper trolley has a tab which extends from the trolley. The tab may be pivoted from a position which is parallel to the line of travel of the trolley, to an outward position, which aids the user in moving the trolley as desired. When the tab is in the position parallel to the line of movement of the trolley, it is provided with a mechanism which locks the zipper in place.